Oleg Kulik is one of the key players of Russia's contemporary art scene. He was born in 1961 in Kiev, Ukraine. He is considered to be one of the founders of actionism in post-Soviet Russia. He explores the emotional and physical aspects of relationships between human beings and animals, normality and deviance, kitsch and art. In the early 90's he used to provoke the society with his radical curatorial projects and art manifestations. Since 2000 Oleg Kulik has been working with techniques such as photo collages, has been making sculptural installations, and turned to pictorial art.

His career started at Regina Gallery in 1991. He was an art director and a curator. In 1992 he organized at the gallery the «Animal projects» festival, during which live cheetahs were walking around the gallery and a real pig was slaughtered at the end. The pork was given out to all the guests at the festival. In 1994 Oleg Kulik performed for the first time as the character of a mad dog in Moscow and then later at the Kunsthalle in Zurich. The animal theme lasted for 13 years in his works till it was changed by the idea of transparency in the late 1990's. During that time, the artist was making sculptures and objects using plexiglass. In 2002 he exhibited his «scarecrows», which represented men who are symbols of Russia, such as tennis players, actresses and astronauts. In the mid 2000's Kulik got into spiritual practices. Moscow's Center of Contemporary Art «Winzavod» opened its doors with his exhibition titled 'I Believe'. In 2009 he was invited as the stage director of Claudio Monteverdi's opera 'Vespers of the Blessed Virgin' at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Oleg participated in many international projects and biennales, including the Venice Bienniale and Manifesta. Oleg Kulik's works are kept in collections of the world's largest museums (Tate Modern, Pompidou Centre, The State Tretyakov Gallery), in private collections and foundations.

Accomplices. Collective and Interactive Art Works in Russian Art of 1960-2000's (special project of the 1st Moscow international biennale of contemporary art). The State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow, Russia